Art of obtaining gasoline hydrocarbons



Oct], 1929. y w, K, w s 1,730,152

ART OF OBTAINING GASOLINE HYDROCARBONS Filed Feb; 5, 1923 ABSORBENT LLQU! D Ho'r Convazssao Gases Ho-r .S'rIuPPm on.

STILL Patented a. 1, 192 9 UNITED STATES TENT OFFICE WARREN K. LEWIS, 0F NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 STANDARD OIL DE- VELOPMENT COMPANY, A CORPORATION or DELAWARE- ART OF OBTAININQ- GASOLINE HYDROCARBONS" Application filed February This invention relates to the'art of recovering condensible constituents from hydrocarbon gases, and will be fully understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which w p v Fig. 1 represents semi-diagrammatically a vertical section of one form of apparatus contemplated in the invention; an

Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modification; both figures being broken for accommodation to the limits of the drawing.

In Fig. 1 of the drawing the reference character 1 designates a cooling apparatus affording contact between gas and accumulated liquid, for example a tower of the type containing a series of plates with bell-caps and overflows. Arranged in the upper end'of the tower is a suitable cooling, means, as a coil 2 having an inlet and outlet 3, 4 for a cooling fluid. A gas inlet pipe 5 connects into the bottom or lower portion of the tower, and

a gas outlet 6 with a controlling valve. 7 is.

' provided at the top.

A gas carrying constituents to be recovered, for example casing head gas or other natural gas or tail gas from stills, is introduced hot and underpressure, into the tower, by the inlet 5. -Cooling is eflected in a gradually progressive manner as the gas proceeds, the constituents which condense along in'the tower flowing down in intimate con-' I .tact with the rising gas and themselves effecting a'graduated cooling action upon it, also cert-ain'lighter constituents re-vapor- .izing progressively abstract heat, and so the gas is progressively cooled to the top of the tower. Inthis manner a high. eflieiency is realized in the cooling andin the obtaining of just the constituents desired. Pressure is maintained in the-tower; for example in making natural gas gasoline a tower pressure of 7 5200 lbs. is ordinarily suitable but this may be .varied with the gas used. The condensate' reaching the bottom of the tower is taken off by pipe 8, andthe stripped gas leaves the system through the pressure controlling valve 7.

Where desired, operations may be carried on in the presence of an absorbent liquid, this 3, i923. Serial No. 616,777.

being introduced into thetop of the tower as at 9, so as to distribute a'ltd flow down countercurrent tothe gas. In using naphtha for instance as the liquid, the desired constituents parated from the gas are carried with' the naphtha absorbent, which is drawn ofl at the bottom of the tower through pipe 8. In accordance aslighter or heavier naphtha is used and the amount fed is proportioned, lighter or heavier casingheadstock may be made. or even a finished gasoline may be prepared.

- When using an absorbent having boiling points above the gasoline range, as for instance, mineral seal oil which is miscible with the condensed constitutents of the gas and is substantially non-volatile under the conditions imposed, such oil may be run down through the tower and through a stripping still to remove the constituents picked up from the gas. For such usage the apparatus shown in Fig. 2 is advantageous. The toWerlO of suitable construction, for example as of the type already mentioned is provided with a gas inlet pipe 15 at the lower portion of the tower, and a'gas outlet 16 with a pressure controlling valve' 17 is provided at the top.

A pipe 18 leads to a stripping still S of any usual or preferred construction, and a pipe 19 returns the stripped oil through a of the tower. A cooling box 22 is interposed t-o insure adequate reduction in temperature before the oil enters the tower. The gas to be treated, enters by pipe 15 and flows up countercurrently to the absorber liquid, which having been suitably cooled, flows down to cool the rising gas, and additionally, as in the first case, condensates forming flow down and also effect a graduated temperature exchange with the gas, with atotal result of progressively cooling the gas and absorbing the desired constituents. In distinction to prior methods of rectificationin the absence of absorption liquid, I have designated the novel method described herein as absorptive rectification.

The stripped gas leaves the system at vlave 17 and the absorber oil with retained constituents flows out by pipe 18 to the stripping still where the gasoline constituents are-taken fyin-g constituents of the gas in the presence ofi and the hot stripped absorberoil is reof such absorptionoil to obtain a normallyturned through the pipe 19, and coil 20.. A liquid product substantially free from highly .by-p ss 23 with controlling valve 24: isproe volatile components.

5 vide and the quantityof hot oilto the coil WARREN K. LEWIS. 70

, 20 is regulated as desired by the valves 24 and 25 to secure 'proper vaporization -'in thetower; and the cooling box 22 conditions the temperature of the oil for its entrance into the top of the tower. Where desired, cooling coils 11 having inlets and outlets for cooling fluid may be provided in the upper partof the tower. 4 v While I have described the invention with 15 reference to certain specific details, changes sq may be made,-within the spirit and scope of i the invention, and the invention is' to be rearded as limited only as defined in the folowing claims, in which it is my intention to 0 claim all inherent novelty as broadly as the 85 prior art permits. a What I claim is:

1. The improvement in the art of recovering gasoline fro m gas, comprising absorbing gasoline constituents in an oil miscible therewith and substantially non-volatile under the conditions imposed, rectifying in the presence of said absorption oil to produce therein a gasoline product substantially free from so highly Volatile. components, and separating 95 such product from the absorption oil. 1 2. The improvement 'n the art of recovering/condensible hydrocarbons, comprising passing the hydrocarbons .up'ward through '35 a gas and liquid contact zone, flowing down 100 through'such zone an absorption liquid substantially non-volatile under the conditions imposed and miscible with the hydrocarbons, and rectifyin the hydrocarbons in the pres- 40 ence of such asorption liquid to obtain a nor- 105 mally liquid product substantially free from highly volatile components.

3. The improvement-in the art of recover- @ing condensible hydrocarbons from a gas containing the same, comprising introducing no the gas at an intermediate point of a gas and liquid contact zone, introducing into such zone, above the gas inlet thereinto, an absorp tion liquid substantially non-Volatile under 59 the conditions imposed and miscible with the 115 condensible hydrocarbons, the point of ini troduction of said liquid being at least in part adjacent the top of the gas and liquid contact zone, causing intimate countercurrent' con- I tact of said gas and liquid, and heating the 120 zone near its bottom and cooling it near its top. a

l. Theimprovement in the art of recoverin condensible hydrocarbons from a gas con- 60 taming the same, comprising passing the gas upward through a gas-and-liquid contact zone, flowing down through such zone an absorption liquid substantially non-volatile under the conditions imposed and miscible with the condensible hydrocarbons, and recti- 

